Lightfoot & Wolfville winery surpasses expectations

Jocelyn and Michael Lightfoot in the 150-seat barrel cellar at their new Wolfville winery. (Bill Spurr/The Chronicle Herald)

This seems like the right time to share this anecdote.

In February of 2016, chef Martin Ruiz Salvador of the Fleur de Sel restaurant in Lunenburg presented his dish of rabbit and snails to the judges at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Kelowna, B.C. He paired his dish with Chardonnay from the Lightfoot & Wolfville winery, telling the judges he’d selected it because it is made “in the Burgundian style.”

That resulted in an eye roll from a member of the panel who is both very knowledgeable about wine and more than a little pretentious on the subject. But when he tried the wine, he admitted he’d been too quick to judge.

“I have to say, this wine is excellent,” he said.

Apparently, many others feel the same way.

Last Sunday, when Lightfoot & Wolfville held the grand opening of its huge new winery, 2,200 people came through the stately sliding glass doors. That’s half the population of the town of Wolfville.

“The business plan predicted that on busy days we’d have over a thousand in the retail shop,” said co-owner Jocelyn Lightfoot.

“So to see that exceeded so early, without advertising or marketing, was very rewarding.”

The winery has been quietly open for business for eight weeks, and the biggest challenge appears to be not running out of wine before winter slows the flow of customers.

“You have to remember we haven’t been listed with the liquor corporation with most of our wines, and there have been limited places to purchase them: farmers’ markets, which have their limitations, and Bishop’s Cellar,” Michael Lightfoot said.

“Opening this venue and having thousands of people come through, two things happened: The comments about our products have been fabulous… and we sold out of three new releases in a matter of three weeks.”

The 2014 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are gone, as is the Scheurebe, exclusive to Lightfoot & Wolfville. The 2015 versions of the Chard and Pinot will be available soon.

“We’re finding that now that our wines are on the shelf and exposed to so many more people, there are surprises. The Riesling, for instance, is really soaring,” said Michael Lightfoot.

“Vinifera is the hero; any vinifera-based wine for us is a hero. But our Tidal Bay is extremely popular. The recognition of Tidal Bay is getting better every year.”

The portfolio currently includes 12 wines, and the plan is to have 20 by next year or the year after. The new wines will include blends, dessert wines and sparklers, but also varietals like Kekfrankos, a red Hungarian grape known for its smooth tannins.

Lightfoot & Wolfville produced 5,500 cases of wine in 2016, and originally projected 7,800 cases for this year, which has already been increased.

“The challenge now is to set next year’s (production) numbers. Had we opened when we wanted to, early in the spring, we’d be sold out (of everything) by now.”

Also selling out are the wood-fired pizzas being created by a culinary team headed by executive chef Geoff Hopgood, back home in Nova Scotia after a star turn in Toronto, and Vince Scigliano, who has helmed several Halifax restaurants, including Gio.

Finding Hopgood was a bit of a fluke.

“We weren’t on an immediate hunt for an executive chef,” said Jocelyn.

“We knew we were jumping in late in the season due to the construction phase, so we anticipated having the winter months to figure out who this executive chef would be for the property. Geoff actually contacted us.

“When we started researching Geoff’s work and tasted the food he did at a few little pop-up events he did for us, we knew this guy was the missing puzzle piece.”

At 30,000 square feet, the winery is the largest in the region by a wide margin. With the exception of giant Douglas firs that frame the building and were sent from B.C. by train, all the materials are local. The barrel cellar seats 150 and the kitchen can feed 800. For design inspiration, the owners travelled to France, Argentina and Italy. The final result and the view are both spectacular.

When Pete Luckett visited the facility, he pronounced himself “gobsmacked.”

Michael Lightfoot first planted grapes on the family farm in 2009, and eased into the wine business by first selling grapes to Benjamin Bridge. He still considers owner Gerry McConnell a mentor. Lightfoot & Wolfville has 40 acres of estate grapes and 40 more under contract. It employs more than 30 people already and will likely add about 10 more staff next year, mainly event staff and in the commercial kitchen.

The focus is on the farm winery experience, agritourism and providing a “luxury wedding destination.”

While weddings won’t be scheduled until after the wine store closes for the day, there are already nine booked for next summer. The first one, a few weeks ago, was for an American couple.

“Then we had a father and mother of a bride hear about the venue and drive up from Miami to check it out for their daughter, who lives in another part of the world,” said Jocelyn.